THE STORY OF SCOUTING

The Founder of Scouting, Lord Baden Powell of Gilwell, was born in England in 1857. He lived a busy and adventurous life and spent much of his spare time in open-air pursuits, hunting in the woods and joining his brothers in expeditions on land and sea. After winning a scholarship, he joined the army and was sent to India, where he served for many years. He tried out his ideas of training soldiers in Scouting and wrote his first book "Aids to Scouting" which was used in army scouting for many years.

After the famous siege by the Boers of the South African town of Maleking, Baden Powell, who was in charge of the defending force, was a hero and was given a great welcome on his return to England.

He was encouraged to set down his views on how he would apply Scouting to the training of boys, and with 20 boys he conducted the first camp at Brownsea Island in 1907. This camp was so successful that he wrote another book, "Scouting for Boys", and two years later at a rally at Crystal Palace, London 10,000 boys attended.

Scouting spread to Australia, New Zealand and India in 1908, Chile in 1909 and the United States in 1910.

Baden Powell was proclaimed World Chief Scout at the first Jamboree at Olympia in 1920, he was raised to the peerage in 1929, and was awarded the Order of Merit in the Coronation Orders in 1937. He travelled widely encouraging Scouting in every country he visited. He visited Australia in 1912, 1931 and in 1934-35 for the first Australian Jamboree held at Frankston in Victoria.

Lord Baden Powell died in Kenya in 1941 and was buried at Nyeri.

Scouting is a world wide movement now involving both sexes, with some 16,000,000 members in 126 countries. It is a movement which has survived the rigours of a changing society for 90 years and the original ideals are still as applicable today as they were in 1907, indicating the foresight and imagination of our Founder, Lord Baden Powell.

Scouts have been active in the area since April 1939 and it has steadily grown to become a very active group. Our den is situated in Sellheim Street, The Grange. Our Group, together with Burul (West Chermside), Gordon Park/Wooloowin, Kalinga, Kedron, Northgate/Nundah, Stafford and Wavell Heights form the Charles Snow District.

This Group has four sections of the Scout Movement, consisting of a Joey Mob, Cub Scout Pack, Scout Troop and a Venturer Unit.

In charge of each Group is a Group Leader who has the overall responsibility for the youth members, uniformed leaders and the Group Committee.

A full uniform consists of a shirt, shorts, belt, socks, suitable footwear which will protect their feet (THONGS ARE NOT PERMITTED), scarf, woggle and hat. The cost of a complete new uniform available from the Scout Outdoor Centre, Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley is approximately $100.

FULL UNIFORM MUST BE WORN to all meetings, camps, outings and special activities unless special instructions are given by a leader that for some special reason full uniform need not be worn. A Cub Scout cook-out is an example where hat and scarf only need be worn. Joeys are the only section without the need for this uniform!

PLEASE ENSURE ALL OF YOUR CHILD'S UNIFORM IS CLEARLY MARKED WITH THEIR NAME.

The Group Committee consists of the Group Leader and several other adults who are selected by the Group Leader to serve on the committee executive. They are usually parents from within the group or other interested people from within the local community. The executive committee consist of a chairman, treasurer, secretary and quartermaster.

The role of the Group Committee is to raise the necessary finance for the maintenance of the den and equipment, to supply the Leaders with the equipment necessary to carry out their programs, and to assist the Group Leader with the recruitment and training of new leaders.

Your child has joined the Scout Movement and become a member of the world wide brotherhood of Scouts. However that is not all - YOU, THEIR PARENTS, HAVE JOINED THE MOVEMENT TOO, for Scouting is a co-operative community venture, sharing with the home, school and church the task of building the physical, mental, social and spiritual development of young children, so that they may take a constructive place in society as responsible citizens.

You will be expected to support the Group in the following manner:

Be actively interested in your child's progress through the pack, troop etc. Encourage them with their badge and test work

Encourage your child to wear their uniform with pride

If you possess any special skills, become a parent tester for badge work.

Attend as many Group functions as possible.

Assist with transport to camps etc.

Enquire about being a member of the Group Executive Committee.

Attend any fund raising activities

Support the Leaders in the program of activities.

The Adult Leaders who are prepared to train your child are VOLUNTARY UNPAID WORKERS and most of them began as parents just like yourself. They devote many hours of their spare time to the children of other people. It is their contribution to the community in which they live. They deserve your full support and cooperation.

There will be special notices handed out from time to time to notify you of coming events, you can assist us by asking your child if they have any such notices when you pick them up.

Should you at any time have any queries do not hesitate to phone the Group Leader.

This is meant to be a summary of costs that could be expected over the period that your child is in the movement. The Scout Movement is very conscious of the cost factor and every effort is made to keep costs to a minimum.

The Scout Association conducts a census at the end of March each year. Annual membership fees are payable to the Branch Headquarters for registration, insurance and camp maintenance. The cover taken by the movement is over authorised scouting activities over the full year.

All the sections have a term fee of $40. This fee is called subs and is used over the term to cover the section expenses and/or camps and outings as well as the purchase of badges and minor craft materials. This term fee is payable even if a member is absent. An account is sent home each term by the Group Committee to collect these subs.

Mob/Pack Holidays:

The cost of the Joey/Cub Scout pack holiday can vary between $15 to $30 depending upon where they are held and what is necessary for a successful camp. The cost includes all food and activities for the weekend.

The cost of the Scout and Venturer camp's can range from $10 to $20 depending on the site and transport costs. A patrol of six people normally purchase their food and transport from the pool of funds. In most instances this is paid from section funds.

Special Activity Fee:

All sections normally conduct special outside activities such as roller skating/water slides etc. These costs are advised to parents before the event.

Each member is expected to have suitable camping gear to enable them to camp successfully. Generally these include suitable clothes, hat, raincoat, shoes, plate, bowl, cup, cutlery, sleeping bag, toiletries. In the Scout troop this will include a suitable back pack for hiking.

JOEYS - Meets Tuesday 4.30 to 5.30pm

CUB SCOUT PACK - Meets Thursdays 6.30 to 8.00pm

SCOUT TROOP - Meets Wednesdays 7.00 to 9.00pm

VENTURER UNIT - Meets Thursday 7.00 to 9.00pm

JOEYS - Boys/girls aged between 6 and 8 years

CUB SCOUTS - Boys/girls aged between 8 and 10 half years

SCOUTS - Males/females aged between 10 and 14 half years

VENTURERS - Males/females aged between 14 and 18 years

ROVERS - Males/females ages between 18 and 26 years

THE JOEY SECTION

The Joey mob is the first stage in the Scout Movement. This section caters for the younger youth members (6 - 8 years). The mob meets for one hour per week and does activities dealing with environment and family life. To encourage input from the children a weekly theme is organised which is sometimes followed for some weeks. The parents are encouraged to stay and have a chat and drink with the other parents while the meeting is in progress.

Dress for a Joey meeting is normal day clothing used by the children to do activities in plus a hat and a Joey scarf. A uniform is not worn by this section. Wilston has a mob t-shirt to foster a feeling of membership. At 8 years of age a Joey links to the cub section via a going up ceremony.

THE CUB SCOUT SECTION

The Cub Scout is the second stage in the Scout Movement, and it is here where a child commences to learn the aspects of Scouting. After enrolment in the movement the Cub Scout Leader will advise you when the investiture is to take place so that you may arrange to be there for the special occasion.

Cub Scouts in the pack are placed in Sixes at the Leader's discretion. Each six has a leader and an assistant known as Sixer and Seconder, who are appointed by the Leaders and are based on age, experience, attitude and ability. The Badge scheme is based on three main badges, the Bronze, Silver and Gold Boomerangs plus associated Achievement Badges. Boomerang Tests are examined by the Leaders and Achievement Tests are examined by parents who have specific knowledge of the particular badge being undertaken and who have volunteered to act as a tester.

The Cub Scout Pack has Pack Holidays. A Pack Holiday is where the children go for a weekend camp for planned activities. They sleep in dormitories or bunkhouse style accommodation and all food is cooked for them by parent helpers.

At 10 half years of age a child commences their Link Badge which, upon completion, allows for their smooth progression into the Scout Section, usually as close as possible to their eleventh birthday. This is called a Going Up Ceremony.

THE SCOUT TROOP

Progression into the Scout Section is like going from Primary School to High School. They no longer sleep in dormitories and have their food cooked for them, but sleep in tents and cook for themselves in Patrols. Each Patrol has a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader again appointed by their age, experience, attitude and ability.

Unlike Cub Scouts, the number of camps, hikes and activities held is determined by the amount of time the Leaders have available for these activities. Most of the Scout outings and camps are organised according to Patrols which form the basis of the Scout Troop.

Troop Council is the planning and organising group of the troop and consists of the Patrol Leaders, Assistant Patrol Leaders and the Scout Leaders. It meets at regular intervals to discuss programming for the troop.

The Badge Scheme consists of Target and Challenge Badges. The Target Badges are broken into three levels, Pioneer, Explorer and Adventurer Level. Target Badges are completed at troop meetings, camps and outings and are tested by the Leaders. Challenge Badges are individual badges and are worked on at home and once again are usually passed by parent or outside testers who have the necessary skills. At 14 half years a Scout commences their Link Badge which will prepare them for smooth progression into the Venturer Unit.

This is the fourth stage of the Scout Movement and caters for the older teenagers. The Venturer Unit elects a Unit Council from within their members and also has the Leaders as members. The Unit Council is responsible for managing the affairs of the unit including the preparation and running of the program of activities, the appointment of activity leaders, the finance of the unit, the supervision of Award Scheme standards and general discipline. The unit program takes in the general scouting activities with some leadership role with the junior members for small periods of time. Other skills such as water activities and abseiling are also encouraged.

The Unit has a Constitution which each member signs and agrees to abide by. Both male and female members must pass a satisfactory trial period before being invested.

The Award Scheme is far more challenging and varied than in any other section and if a Venturer is prepared to work it will result in a Queen's Scout Award. The Queen's Scout award is one of the highest awards in the movement and is worn with great pride by the recipients.

At 17 years a Venturer commences a Link Badge in order to progress to Rovers.